 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ashley91489
Date: 2009-06-04 22:21
I give private lessons (I'm currently a university student, music major) in the summer and I was hoping to get some additional feedback on what is especially important to teach h.s. students during private lessons. What are the most important things in *your* opinion to do during the actual lesson and what are some good assignments to give for the student to work on?
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-06-04 23:09
Well, when I was in high school, in the summers I'd work with my teacher on etudes (mostly out of the Rose books, since that's where they pull most of the All Region/All-State etudes out of around here).
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-06-05 01:36
Probably the most important area in which you can really make a difference in a summer for a student is tone production. It almost doesn't matter what material you use. To focus on tone (and intonation, which is often wrapped up with it) the material can't be at the top of the student's technical ability.
If the student is already working on something (maybe for an upcoming audition in the next school year) you can get him/her started with that in addition to scales/rudiments at an appropriate level and, maybe, time and the student's interest permitting, some kind of etude material either from a method book or an etude collection. If the student has a particular goal for taking lessons, you may be able to capitalize on it.
Karl
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2009-06-05 01:43
If you don't do it during the regular year, this would be a good time to teach them the technique of proper reed adjustment, too. Most kids don't ahve a clue how to fix a reed to make it a really usable one. This will also help them with tone production. If you are playing lousy reeds, your tone (and frustration levels) suffer.
Jeff
“Everyone discovers their own way of destroying themselves, and some people choose the clarinet.” Kalman Opperman, 1919-2010
"A drummer is a musician's best friend."
Post Edited (2009-06-05 01:43)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-06-05 02:20
kdk wrote:
<<Probably the most important area in which you can really make a difference in a summer for a student is tone production.>>
I hope I don't sound too silly for asking this, but how do you teach tone?
The reason why I am asking this is that I don't recall ever specifically working on tone production when I took lessons. If we did, I certainly didn't realize it. As far as I can tell, tone quality was something I learned through osmosis (like learning to speak).
(I don't mean to imply that it can't be taught. I just don't know how it's done and am curious what teachers do to teach this.)
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Author: Nessie1
Date: 2009-06-05 07:48
mrn wrote:
> I hope I don't sound too silly for asking this, but how do you
> teach tone?
>
I would start off with some very simple exercises based on long notes played at various dynamics and octave slurs. Both of these are also good for intonation, of course.
Vanessa.
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2009-06-05 07:59
A few very useful exercises I remember practising a lot on my own:
- Dynamics, ie long tones starting off ppp going up to fff and back again very slowly, in all registers. I remember thinking how silly it seemed at first, but in fact it was harder than I thought and great practice.
- Plenty of mixed staccato and legato exercises in all registers, quiet/loud, slow/fast etc. Great for exercising the tongue as well!
Steve
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Author: gwie
Date: 2009-06-05 08:29
How to breathe properly!
I see too many students with their shoulders popping up all over the place...
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Author: BobD
Date: 2009-06-05 11:35
I have fond memories of taking lessons during the hot summer of 1946 from Clarence Warmerlin in a non air conditioned second floor studio. Each time I stopped playing Clarence would wake up and offer a comment.
Bob Draznik
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Author: DavidBlumberg
Date: 2009-06-05 12:16
Absolutely tone can be taught!
Amount of lip on reed, mouth shape inside, tongue position, voicing notes, sinuses, reed, etc. all factors into it.
Can be pretty amazing to see the results. It takes lots of practice, but the teacher does the steering.
Just like technique can be taught.
http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com
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Author: dgclarinet
Date: 2009-06-05 12:26
I think it depends on the high school student. If they've been taking lessons all year it might be a good idea to change things up a little from what they've been doing. Throw one of the JeanJean books at them and see what happens (if they've been doing Rose studies all year)...if they're into it, throw them a Jamie Abersol book...anything to keep clarinet playing fun.
Then again, if the high school kid is like I was and only takes lessons during the summer, you treat it like you would anybody else...start at the beginning and go from there.
To me, it depends on the kid.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2009-06-05 12:30
You probably had an exceptionally good start and your tone concept developed with the rest of your technique. Besides, teachers are constantly working with students on tone - over the long haul it isn't a separate study but a part of music making that becomes an implicit part of every lesson with a good teacher. But students who only take private lessons for a few summer weeks with an unfamiliar teacher who is unfamiliar with their playing often are coming to private lessons for the first time and may have done all of their clarinet study in group settings where the teacher rarely gets a chance to hear and diagnose problems or follow up on solutions individually.
When a student comes to me for the first lesson (whether it's explicitly a summer thing or a potentially longer commitment during the school year), almost without exception the one thing most lacking is a concept of tone. It obviously depends on the student and what kind of instruction he/she has had previously, but many times a student comes to private lessons from a school situation in which there wasn't the individual attention needed to correct basic problems. As a result the student's first sounds at the initial lesson are breathy or thin or harsh or a combination, articulation is all noise and no tone, and everything above clarion G(5) is flat (or won't speak). These are most of the time all part of the same set of problems. The student doesn't have any real idea what a clarinet is supposed to sound like, so any sound will do if most of the right notes come out.
The solutions to these problems are probably the easiest to accomplish and the result is easy for the student to hear over a short summer course of lessons. He needs to learn to pay attention to reeds. They need to be the right strength (something he'll need help finding) and even within the right strength they need to be chosen selectively or the student needs to be taught to balance them. Oral and embouchure shapes are important and often not discussed in group lessons at school, and the student can easily hear the result of changes and get immediate positive feedback. Breath support is important. Again, improving this part of playing produces a quick result that the student can hear immediately. All of this needs to be practiced using material that's musically interesting but not so technically demanding that practicing the notes distracts from concentrating on the sound that's coming out.
This isn't to say that things like phrasing, dynamics, rhythmic accuracy, etc. should be ignored in whatever material is being used. A teacher can make a great start on building awareness of these in a student who hasn't ever thought much about them before. And if the student seems willing to practice it (you aren't going to change his attitude toward practicing in a few lessons especially over the summer - you need to work with the student you get, not the one you want ), some more challenging technical etudes or a solo piece can be included.
And, of course, all of this depends on what the student brings to the first lesson. I would certainly not meddle with a part of a person's playing that doesn't need much if any help, so if there's already a good concept of sound, then I'd listen for other aspects of the student's playing where I could be of assistance.
Karl
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2009-06-05 12:31
If the students haven't taken piano lessons, or if earlier instructors didn't cover the basics of music theory, then that's a crucial area. A clarinet player who can sight-read in any key signature and who knows how to transpose has a big advantage (even at the high school level) over the many who can't. You might want to be sneaky about overcoming the myth that theory is boring: Simply assume the intelligent student will enjoy an interesting puzzle and approach it that way, instead of as a chore. Instead of just giving workbook exercises, add real music in all the key signatures and sometimes hand the student with a Bb clarinet a part written for clarinet in Eb, C or A, for instance.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2009-06-05 15:24
New students
First off I play their instrument and check for leaks, missing/torn key cork, bent keys, torn pads etc. If I find any issues, they're sent to the shop to get it fixed prior to the next lesson.
I also look at the mouthpiece, reeds, ligature, etc., - check out their setup and make changes if necessary. You'd be suprised how many show up with instruments needing repair, torn reeds, chipped mouthpieces, etc.
Then I have them play a chromatic for me - that tells me much about where they are in their studies.
Ongoing discussions
Equipment care
Hand position
Embouchure
Reeds - placement on mpc, selection, care, adjustment
TONE!
Intonation
Breathing
Tounging
Posture
Musicality
Rhythm
Theory
use of tuners and metronomes
Lesson Format
'Usual' lesson format for most of them includes:
Chromatic scale
scales/thirds/argeggios as assigned
tounging exercise with metronome
mechanism studies
Etude
Solo
Other music as needed/assigned
I also have a syllabus of what they need to learn in their 7 years with me (6th - 12th grade). Email me offline if you want a copy.
High school students by the time they graduate are expected to have mastered all 12 major and minor scales, arpeggios and thirds, plus 15+ solos plus 3 etude books, among other things. They also need to be able to play in tune, with a good tone, good posture, and demonstrate appropriate articulation, phrasing, rhythm, etc.
Some manage that, some seniors still can't play a C scale properly
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: hammer_sickle01
Date: 2009-06-05 17:59
I don't know whats necessarily important or not but here's a list of what my instructor usually focuses on with our lessons and you can decide if those are things you would deem important.
Sight-reading (I warm up on scales and then she pulls music out and has me play it...usually like a page worth. It's not always originally for Bb Clarinet either. Recently she's been having me sight read A clarinet music).
Scales, scales, scales: by this time I can play all my major and minor scales but now it's nailing down memorization, 3 octaves, arpeggios and the other 2 forms of minor.
Honor band music: they post it pretty early here in cali (like a month after the season ends) so i order it when it comes available and we begin working on it little by little for the remainder of the year.
Etudes: just for the hell of it...she believes it's something I should have down in my repertoire.
Klose book: it's the clarinet standard (Ive joked around as it being a clarinet bible) She picks out a page for me to work on every week and it's my job to have it down by the next 2 lessons (its great as exercises in familiarity and technique).
That's about it. Also...musicianship is a great thing to work on. My lessons are only 45 min long so we dont really have time to work on ear training, rhythm, music theory or anything like that so I take additional lessons at a music center that offer lessons specifically for that. It never hurts to go back to basics. I know, lesson times are limited but if you could also try incorporating musicianship into the lessons I think it's be really beneficial to the student (and save them money from going elsewhere); it was for me!
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Author: clariniano
Date: 2009-06-07 01:41
With most students, especially at the high school level I work with them on their tone (particularly their use of air), and sometimes their timing as well. With some students I usually start them with the Hite Melodious Progressive studies with Galper book 2, but in some cases the student was struggling so much I take them through the Galper Book 1. I try to mke sure they know their scales and apreggios up to four sharps and flats by the time they finish Grade 10 in school, and also work on their more difficult band or orchestra music. My better high school students often audition for one of the high level music ensembles available here, and my very best ones, especially those who are thinking about a career in music, I put them in certain competitions which I know the judges are fair, and don't simply pick the winner based on who played the hardest piece for example. Plus students here get to have themselves recorded on audio and/or video (which is now necessary for a couple of students I teach). They also get instruction in theory, sight-reading, and ear training.
Meri
Please check out my website at: http://donmillsmusicstudio.weebly.com and my blog at: http://clariniano.wordpress.com
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Author: mrn
Date: 2009-06-10 16:46
kdk wrote:
<<You probably had an exceptionally good start and your tone concept developed with the rest of your technique. Besides, teachers are constantly working with students on tone - over the long haul it isn't a separate study but a part of music making that becomes an implicit part of every lesson with a good teacher. But students who only take private lessons for a few summer weeks with an unfamiliar teacher who is unfamiliar with their playing often are coming to private lessons for the first time and may have done all of their clarinet study in group settings where the teacher rarely gets a chance to hear and diagnose problems or follow up on solutions individually.>>
That makes sense and also explains why I never had to explicitly work on tone. I started with private lessons first (so my private teacher taught me all the fundamentals from the beginning). I never took beginner band because when I got to 6th grade I had already been playing for a couple of years. I also took from the same teacher for 9 years.
Post Edited (2009-06-10 20:40)
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Author: Marie from New York
Date: 2009-06-11 19:41
In my experience, high school students, as well as younger students, vary widely in what they need to work on. Some will have naturally good tone, others will need to work on it. Some will have a great sense of rhythm, others will drive you crazy with their lack of it. The best (most fun) part of teaching for me is coming alongside of a budding clarinetist, finding out exactly where they need to improve, and then tailoring a regiment to work on that. They're all so different, both in natural talent and in learning styles. Give them a week or two of playing for you and with you as you analyze their playing and then begin to assess what they need, yourself!
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Author: Katrina
Date: 2009-06-11 20:43
Marie is right. All students are different. That said, there are fundamentals of music which all need to know. Rhythm, tone, technique (including articulation), expression, and "musicality" are all things which should be addressed. Positive feedback for the things the kid's doing right is also necessary!
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Author: Claire Annette
Date: 2009-06-14 21:18
Playing along in the lesson and audibly demonstrating a desirable tone and visually demonstating a proper embouchure, posture, clarinet position, etc. can be a good model for the student to copy...or can at least be the bar that the student wants to meet or rise above.
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